Articles by Jakayla Phillips

The large dim-lit atrium was filled with young and elderly clients, employees and the live entertainer for that day, Mr. Pickles. Mr. Pickles stood before the crowd in his green pants and neatly crafted, white double-buttoned shirt with a huge green pickle pasted on the upper right. As always, he was accompanied by his karaoke […]

Two days prior to Sylville Smith’s death, Thaddeus Ashford, his cousin, said that he saw Smith for the last time. He said Smith was in a car with four tinted windows, so at first, he didn’t know who was in the vehicle. Smith was also wearing shades, as seen on many of his pictures posted […]

A “modern-day leper.” Those are his words. Ventae Parrow is branded by the state of Wisconsin as a “homeless sex offender” and, by many in society, an outcast to be feared, warned about, and shunned. He’d have more rights to move freely if he’d killed someone. He’s served his prison sentence (again), but the elaborate […]

The officer involved in the fatal shooting of Sylville Smith, 24-year-old Dominique Heaggan-Brown, was terminated from the Milwaukee Police Department for allegedly violating the Milwaukee Police Code of Conduct on Oct. 3, just a little over a week after being charged with five counts of sexual assault. Just one day after Dominique Heaggan-Brown’s preliminary court […]

Concern for a better Milwaukee with equal opportunities for all and yearning for what she calls new, effective executive leaders led Verona Swanigan to run for Milwaukee County District Attorney. Swanigan is a 39-year-old Milwaukee native who graduated from high school in three years while in an honor’s program at Marshall High School. She then […]

Over 20 performances were presented at UW-Milwaukee’s 17th Annual Drag Show at the Milwaukee Theatre in February. The show was hosted by Vivian Storm and co-hosted by Lady J. This year, a record was broken with 3,000 people in attendance for an epic night with the queens. Jakayla Phillips reports.

The Student Association’s Oversight and Appeals Commission refused to throw out three campus parking tickets, May 2, although there was confusion concerning whether or not the signs have some ambiguity about the parking restrictions. However, in two cases, they did agree to reduce the fines to $20 in order to make the punishments less severe. […]

It was a typical morning when the students, all prepared for an exciting day, sat silently as the teacher instructed them to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Everyone stood with their right hand crossed over their chest as they faced the large red, white and blue cloth that had 50 white stars and 13 […]

Anticipation filled the quiet, dim-lit room of nearly 20 people as David Romero stood before the crowd with the mic in his hand. Romero has opened for many musical acts and performed at several locations prior to UW-Milwaukee, such as the University of Central Florida, Champlain College, University of California at San Diego and more. […]

Aijia Phillips was just 2 years old when her father, George Phillips, Jr., was shot and killed in Milwaukee on August 14, 2012. Now 5, Aijia and her aunt, UW-Milwaukee journalism student Jakayla Phillips, sat down on Thanksgiving to talk about Aijia’s handful of memories. .

When Ashley Haynes was growing up, her mother’s military duty meant frequent deployments and many moves. That was hard, but Ashley got to learn about life around the globe.

“I will never be pretty enough” are the words I’ve often told myself while staring in the mirror. I live in a world that defines the beauty of a woman based upon the unrealistic images that media portrays. Have you ever noticed that, most times, the prettiest girls on television have a light complexion, thin […]